Expo 2015 signs deal to showcase Italian delights

Italy's agrifood industry expected to play major role

(By Sandra Cordon)
(ANSA) - Rome, March 10 - A new protocol allowing Italian
food and beverage producers to participate in Milan Expo 2015
was signed Monday, as organizers of the world's fair announced
that 144 countries have now signed up for the event.

Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina, Expo Commissioner
Giuseppe Sala and Diana Bracco, general commissioner for the
Italian pavilion at Expo, signed the protocol clearing the way
for greater Italian agrifood participation in the world's fair
dedicated to sustainable nutrition around the globe.

The protocol sets out the procedures for contributions by
agrifood and agricultural businesses, including new projects
with a high degree of innovation that are to be presented during
Expo, all of which is designed to help visitors better
understand the role of the industries in Italian life.

Producers will be given space within the Italian pavilion,
where facilities will also be provided for events and projects
aimed at encouraging start-ups in the food and agriculture
sector.

The agriculture ministry will also use space in the
pavilion to promote educational programs for students interested
in disciplines related to agriculture and agri-food.

Also through the Italian pavilion, a project to promote the
Made In Italy brand, as well as labels confirming national
production quality values, will be presented during Expo with a
special focus on organic products and their certification.

It will all dovetail with the theme of Expo 2015: "Feeding
the Planet - Energy for Life", which centers on fighting famine
and malnutrition worldwide through sustainable and healthy
development, global cooperation and new technology.

"We are very satisfied with the level of participation,"
Sala said at the presentation of a protocol for the Italian food
and beverage industry.
Expo 2015, which runs May 1 until October 31 of that year,
is expected to attract over 20 million visitors and to be a
massive money spinner for Italy's business capital.

Preparations on a 1.1-million-square-meter site have been
underway for years.

Italy last hosted a World's Fair in 1992 with a Christopher
Columbus-themed Expo in Genoa.

Organizers of Expo 2015 were aiming to reach at least 130
member countries and are on pace to sign up considerably more
than that, with 144 agreements now in hand.

Sala said he was also hoping that a very significant and
sizeable player, the United States, will sign up for the Expo
when US President Barack Obama visits Italy and the Vatican on
March 27.

But Sala also warned against taking anything for granted as
some countries may change their minds about participating,
possibly states with budget concerns.

Expo's focus on food and sustainable development as well
regional specialties is designed to attract international
interest, with each pavilion responsible for developing its own
particular offerings to catch the eye of visitors drawn from
around the globe, said Sala.

"The contents of the event are the responsibility of
different countries; today, for example, we received the
(participation agreement) of Grenada, the Caribbean island which
is the queen of spices".

The Italian pavilion will also put wine under the
spotlight, Sala added but stressed that Expo "is not a
commercial fair, but is aimed at discovering the qualities of
different countries".

Expo's emphasis on food security will provide a strong link
to teach healthy eating habits in schools, "and lower the
dramatic obesity rates recorded in Italy and Europe," said
Education Minister Stefania Giacomini on Monday.

"We need to make youths understand that it is necessary to
eat well, as well as not overeat," she said.

Meanwhile, politicians from the 5-Star Movement (M5S) said
that on Saturday, a group of parliamentarians intends to inspect
the Expo site in Milan along with municipal and regional
councilors from the area.

But the M5S, led by former comedian Beppe Grillio,
suggested in a press release that it has made up its mind that
Expo is a boondoggle.

"Unnecessary work, disproportionate costs, land use, waste,
high environmental impact and damage to the health of
citizens...these are the key words of the universal exhibition
in Milan," said the M5S press release.

"The goal is to see clearly and denounce what really lurks
beneath the Expo: huge urban (property) speculation disguised as
an international event for 'feeding the planet',"said the M5S
statement.